BENGALURU, Jan 12, 2026, 17:54 IST
HCLTech reported a stronger-than-expected jump in third-quarter revenue on Monday, but a one-off expense linked to India’s new labour laws dragged profit below estimates. The company trimmed its fiscal 2026 revenue growth forecast to 4% to 4.5%, down from the previous range of 3% to 5%. Revenue climbed 13.3% to 338.72 billion rupees ($3.8 billion), while profit slipped 11.2% to 40.76 billion rupees, weighed down by a 9.56 billion-rupee charge, the firm said. 1
India’s IT earnings season kicks off early, as investors look for signs that clients are starting to spend more after a lengthy period of cautious tech budgets. Bloomberg consensus estimates, highlighted by NDTV Profit earlier today, suggest mid-single-digit sequential revenue growth alongside a stronger jump in operating profits, driven by software seasonality. 2
Upstox noted that the December quarter tends to be seasonally soft, with holiday furloughs cutting into billable days and weighing on services revenue. It highlighted banking and financial services (BFS) as a comparatively stronger area. CEO C Vijayakumar said the firm aims to “move from AI pilot to AI monetisation” as clients ramp up projects. 3
HCLTech reported AI revenue jumped to $146 million from $100 million the previous quarter, with new deal bookings increasing to $3 billion from $2.57 billion. Banking revenue rose 8.1%, technology climbed 14.4%, while life sciences dipped 2%, the company said. Peer Tata Consultancy Services also surpassed revenue forecasts, with Infosys and Wipro set to report later this week. 4
In October, the company maintained its full-year revenue growth forecast at 3% to 5%, with an EBIT margin target between 17% and 18%. EBIT refers to operating profit before interest and taxes, while “constant currency” excludes exchange-rate fluctuations. At that time, Vijayakumar highlighted “Advanced AI revenue exceeding $100 million” for the quarter, reflecting a surge in demand for AI-driven projects. 5
The board announced a fourth interim dividend of 12 rupees per share for FY26. According to Economic Times, the record date is January 16, with payments set for January 27. 6
HCLTech shares inched up 0.34% to 1,667 rupees on the NSE ahead of its earnings report, Moneycontrol said. Yet, the stock has slipped more than 16% over the last 12 months, placing the company’s market value near 4.51 lakh crore rupees. A CNBC-TV18 poll referenced by Moneycontrol projected October-December profit at 4,747 crore rupees and revenue at 33,360 crore rupees. 7
During the same session, TCS reported a 13.92% drop in profit to 10,657 crore rupees, with revenue hitting 67,087 crore rupees, and declared a dividend payout, Financial Express said. Ahead of HCLTech’s results, Axis Direct predicted a 4.5% quarter-on-quarter revenue rise, citing typical software seasonality but also flagging wage hikes and rising costs. 8
But the labour-code issue throws a cost wildcard into the mix. Business Standard reported that draft rules for India’s new labour codes may boost wage-linked payouts by broadening the wage definition. This would hike provident fund and gratuity calculations while increasing compliance burdens. 9
Investors want to see if AI is moving beyond demos to actual booked work, after a massive 75,000-crore rupee foreign sell-off in IT stocks last year, as reported by Economic Times. Nomura analyst Abhishek Bhandari noted clients are shifting “from proof-of-concept projects to standalone implementations of AI,” a change that could shape deal pipelines heading into 2026. 10
